CRRA Update MAY 2010

Please mark your calendars! CRRA ALL MEMBERS MEETING Tuesday, June 29, 2010

• The CRRA All Members meeting will be held Tuesday, June 29, 2010 from 9:00am to 12:00 noon, hosted by Board member Artemis Kirk and Georgetown University Libraries.

Following the meeting, all are invited to gather for lunch at the Georgetown Faculty Club.

On Monday, June 28 at 3:30 pm Demian Katz (Villanova) will host a discussion of VuFind at Georgetown University Libraries. Join CRRA friends for dinner that evening at 7pm at Paolo’s in Georgetown.

You will receive the full schedule of events in a separate email. We look forward to seeing you in June!

Jennifer Younger Takes on New Role with the CRRA

Jennifer Younger is stepping down as Edward H. Arnold Director of Hesburgh Libraries at the University of Notre Dame, effective May 19, 2010, to take on a new role with the CRRA.

During her tenure at Notre Dame, Younger oversaw a major redesign and renovation of the lower level of the University’s primary library facility, the Hesburgh Library. Other initiatives led by Younger include the creation of specific library objectives within the University’s current capital campaign, improvement of reserves and other teaching and support systems and services, recruitment of numerous and superb library faculty and staff, and efficient and effective organizational changes.

CRRA board member Artemis Kirk, the university librarian at Georgetown University, said: “Jennifer has been the driving force behind the creation of the Catholic Research Resources Alliance, and all of its members are indebted to her for her leadership. We’re delighted that she can devote even more of her energy and expertise to strengthening the alliance, and we appreciate Notre Dame's commitment in understanding the importance of the CRRA."

Collections Committee Member News

The Collections Committee is happy to report that Emily Asch, Head of Technical Services at St. Catherine University, and Jean McManus, Catholic Studies Librarian at Notre Dame have joined the Collections Committee. A warm welcome to Emily and Jean!

Stepping down from the Collections Committee are Carol Johnson (St. Kate’s) and Alan Krieger (Notre Dame). Carol and Alan have been key contributors to the development of the CRRA. Thank you for your years of service to the Committee.

Scholars Advisory Committee News

The Scholars Advisory Committee held a virtual meeting in April to discuss next steps for the Catholic portal. Scholars recommended the following directions for the portal: emphasize the rare and unique (especially manuscripts); eliminate records for items that would be readily available in catalogs; provide full access to and display of finding aids; and focus efforts on collaborative digitization projects. Users want the document itself (whether text, image, sound, etc).

Sincere thanks to our esteemed scholars for their important contributions to the CRRA.

CLIR Grant Symposium

Matt Blessing of Marquette University Libraries, Deborah Kloiber of St. Catherine University, and Maria Mazzenga of Catholic University attended the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) Hidden Collections Program Symposium in Washington, DC, March 29-30, 2010. The symposium brought together 2009 Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives recipients. In 2009, Marquette, St. Kate’s, Catholic U and the CRRA were awarded a $149,000 grant for the "Catholic Social Action Access Project."

Special thanks to Matt Blessing for creating a poster representing the Catholic Social Action Access Project to the symposium. Thanks, also, Matt, for your observations and remarks on the workshop!

About the grants and suggestions for future collaborative proposals

The 2008 and 2009 Cataloging Hidden Special Collections grants amount to 29 projects involving 60 institutions. They are cataloging 26,000 linear feet of materials, amounting to more than 4 million items. This includes the Catholic Social Action Access project.

It was clear from the meeting that grant applicants need to be well versed in Mark Greene & Dennis Meissner's "More Product, Less Process,1" and should be able to demonstrate a firm interest in utilizing metrics to evaluate a project. This was a two-fold mantra throughout the meeting in Washington, D.C.

Mark your calendars ...

Kevin Cawley (Notre Dame) will present "Investigating Change through the Catholic Research Resources Alliance" as a panelist at the Conference on the History of Women Religious, to be held at the University of Scranton June 27-30, 2010.

Saturday, June 26, 2010 from 1:30pm – 3:30pm. Washington, DC. Eric Lease Morgan and Pat Lawton of the CRRA will participate in a panel discussion “Accessing Religious Materials: A Digital Solution,” hosted by the Catholic Library Association. Eric and Pat will discuss overall goals, steps and future directions in building the Catholic portal. Jon Miller will describe he International Mission Photography Archive, using photographs accumulated by international missions from 1860-1945. CRRA Board member, Tim Meagher of Catholic University of America, will moderate the discussion.

All CRRA events and events of possible interest to members are posted to the CRRA calendar, available at http://tiny.cc/Calendar798 and also accessible from the Admin area of the website.

CRRA Update is an electronic newsletter distributed via email each month to provide members with an update on CRRA activities. Contact us at 575.631.1324 or email [email protected] with your questions, comments, or news to share.